From our experience, travelling is much more exciting when shared with someone else. As much as we love to travel together and to travel with our friends and family, we always felt a special thrill when we meet people while travelling, whether locals, or fellow travellers like us.
It’s not always easy; it can actually be quite scary to step out of your comfort zone and make new friends. But it didn’t matter how intimidated we felt: we always had great experiences!
Here we are going to share our best stories about meeting people while travelling, in the most spontaneous and random ways, but always by sharing a common passion.
Meet travellers through food
In 2018, we spent the last couple of days of our honeymoon to Japan in Tokyo. Obviously, we were on the hunt for delicious gastronomical experiences, so we headed to Gyoza Lou in Harajuku to taste their famous gyoza dumplings, as we had seen on the YouTube travel channel The Random Walker. We loved it so much we ordered another dish! Here’s our vlog about it!
Next to us at the counter (in true Japanese style) there was another couple of travellers. We left the restaurant together, bellies full and satisfied, and started a conversation with a simple “Wow, that was delicious!”. It was so easy! Nationalities and details of our trips followed, names and handshakes, they were Australian and had been in Tokyo already for a week. They knew a great beer nearby, Baird Beer Taproom Harajuku, shall we go have a beer together? Of course! We had such a great time strolling along Takeshita street, exchanging tips about Japan and getting to know each other.
Meet people in a shared space
One cold January, the travel bug bit us with a random, spontaneous destination: instead of a classic city in Spain, we booked a flight to spend a weekend in Tarragona, a small town close to Barcelona. We enjoyed a February weekend with no idea whatsoever of what the town could offer, and we got lucky: it was the Carnival weekend, and the city celebrated with colourful parades!
We booked an Airbnb and for some reason we chose a room in a shared flat, where a local Spanish woman lived. It was such a homey experience: the Spanish lady stayed in the smallest room, another room was rented out to a Chinese student spending a year at the local university, and the last room would host friends and family, or Airbnb guests. Homemade breakfast and advice from a local? Yes, please!
It was so refreshing to chat with the sole purpose of expanding our views, with no expectation to stay in touch afterwards. This woman travelled far and wide, had intense relationships, changed multiple jobs and started businesses in totally different fields, and at the time was working with the elderly and mentally sick people. No other job before had given her that kind of deep meaning and satisfaction. It was just a 30-minutes conversation on the way to the train station, but it was very memorable and eye-opening.
Meet travellers with a shared itinerary
This is not our experience, but we find it so impressive that wish to share it. Poppy is a young vlogger and journalist who shares her travels on her website and on her YouTube channel, Where’s Poppy. She is clever, funny, fresh and very relatable. She is also a solo traveller, which we find very brave and inspiring!
During one of her latest trips, she landed in New Zealand without a precise plan, but knowing full well that the best way to see the country was by car on a road trip. In the most spontaneous and hopeful way, she wrote on a Facebook group about backpacking in New Zealand, looking for someone to share the trip with. Fortune favors the bold: she met a French guy who already had a minivan and was about to leave on a road trip! Her videos about those days together with him are hilarious. Paired with the amazing beauty of New Zealand, they are really fascinating and entertaining!
We haven’t found ourselves yet in such a situation, but we did meet great people on day trips and hikes. When the itinerary is shared, it’s so easy to meet people while travelling, especially people passionate about the same destinations and activities.
Meet people with a shared lifestyle
(Darek’s story) Back in 2008, in the time when CouchSurfing was still a pure idea of sharing experiences while travelling, I had the pleasure and privilege to spend 6 months in Australia, all surfing with locals. I spent only one night in a hostel.
It has to be stated, for the new generation of travellers, that CouchSurfing in its original form promoted the experience of hosting above of the concept of free accommodation. Spending time with the host, learning their culture, and giving back with a small gesture such as cooking dinner for them was the essence of such experience.
The idea was to base your search on qualities, interests and personality of the hosts you would like to experience. Essentially, to find a person with whom you click and would like to explore the local surroundings through they unique point of view. This way, I met amazing people and experienced Australia in a way that would not have been possible otherwise.
Some of such encounters survived the test of time, allowing us to continue our friendship, and meet again in different parts of the world.
Meet people through music
(Giulia’s story) Back in 2010, Florence and the Machine was still an unknown indie band at their first album. My dear friend Alvise put it on one day in the car. I loved it immediately, and proceeded to share it with my friends Federica and Mabel. We discovered that Florence and the Machine was going to play in Frankfurt, easily reachable by Ryanair: how could we say no to that? Federica even started exploring the fan forum of Florence and the Machine online. Two Irish girls, Emma and Nicola, also had tickets for Frankfurt, and stated clearly: “We always get to the front!”. Exciting! They became friends and agreed to meet at the doors of the venue.
The concert was magnificent. Standing in the rain all together outside the doors and running to the front rewarded us with a performance that still makes me shiver. The venue was so small and the stage so low, it felt like they were playing just for us! Being so passionate about an unknown band allowed us to bond really quickly, and at the end of the concert we were just ecstatic, hugging each other.
We kept in contact with Emma and Nicola to share the news about new songs and concerts. One day, possibly a year later, Federica and I took another glorious RyanAir flight and visited them in Dublin for a weekend! Thanks to our common passion, we got along perfectly well.
There are so many other ways to meet people while travelling: by taking a city tour, joining a hike, participating to a local class. Follow your passions, and you will find people similar to you! Even if it’s intimidating at the beginning, a simple smile is the best way to start.
What are your experiences about meeting people while travelling?
“We always get to the front!” .. so true!
Florence <3